Startup Legal Garage: Patent Module

Students work with life science startup companies through the Startup Legal Garage, which is based at UC Hastings Law School.  Students provide legal services for early-stage startup companies, under supervision of lawyers from leading law firms in the Bay Area.

In the Startup Legal Garage:
•    Students evaluate the patent landscape for early stage life science companies, particularly out of UC campuses such as UCSF.
•    Student field work is supervised  by lawyers at outside law firms including Wilson Sonsini, Cooley, Dorsey & Whitney, Goodwin Proctor, Womble Bond Dickinson, and many others.
•    Students participate by distance in a seminar, taught by UC Hastings Professor Robin Feldman. The seminar meets Thursdays, 1:10 pm to 3:10 pm, beginning August 20th and ending in mid-November.  There is also a required Startup Legal Garage bootcamp from 1-5pm on Sunday, August 16 (it is recorded for those who have an excused absence from Prof. Feldman). Questions about the content of the seminar or the bootcamp should be sent directly to Prof. Feldman at feldmanr@uchastings.edu or to Prof. Paul Belonick at belonickpaul@uchastings.edu. UCLA students can participate in the bootcamp at UCLA School of Law through video conferencing.
•    Students receive 2 letter-graded units for the seminar and 3 P/U/NC units for fieldwork (performed on the students’ own time, working remotely with the attorneys and startups).   Under Academic Standards effective July 1, 2017, three credit hours of field work requires a minimum of 156 hours over the semester (12-15 hours per week of clinic work).
Prerequisite or Co-requisite:
•    Students must enroll in or have completed an IP Survey Course, and/or Patent Law
•    A prior Science degree (e.g. engineering, computer science, biology) is strongly recommended so that the student will feel comfortable talking to inventors and analyzing scientific descriptions in patents.

Method of Assessment:
•    The field units are graded PUNC.  Students are required to report their time, turn in reflective journals, and meet with the professors individually and/or in groups. The seminar portion will receive a letter grade. The grade is based on 1) preparation for and participation in the discussions in class of the relevant cases and doctrines, 2) and an exam in December.Here is a link to our two-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjbDaPfVUZI.